The Third Path
by Reid Phantom
Summary: " 'There are three different things that could have happened after you died. You obviously didn't move on, but that doesn't mean you became a ghost.' Danny stared at her as he processed what she said. Finally he asked, 'Then what am I' " Danny was always different than other ghosts, but figured it was because he was half-ghost. He was wrong. No PP. Title may change. hiatus
1. An Excerpt

**This is only AU in the fact that Phantom Planet did not happen. Everything else before in cannon stays the same. This is the prologue and is an excerpt from a fake book. More information will be given in later chapters.**

**I do not own Danny Phantom. If I did, Phantom Planet would not have happened and Danny would have told Valerie his secret sooner so that they could be together. Plus, this would have been season 4 (and we would have been way past this point already).**

An excerpt from The Hidden Tome of Vezichari

When a human dies, there are three paths the freed soul can take. Most are sent straight to the After. However, some stay behind.

There are many reasons that could leave a soul tied to the earth. This tie is important though because it dictates which of the other two paths the soul will take.

A soul that is tied to the human plane by dark magic or evil or selfish reasonings will become a demon and is sent to the Ever. Demons often develop an obsession, usually involving something to do with their ties, and will do anything in order to satisfy their obsession. One should always be careful when dealing with demons. The majority of these creatures are as evil, selfish, and vain as their ties. Although there are some demons that have released their dark ties to become "good", they will continue to remain on this plane as their souls have been blocked from the After. These Demons, referred to as Spirits, hide away in the far areas of the Ever, known as the Eternal Realms. Only Spirits that are bound to an area within the human realm will remain outside of the Ever, but even these Spirits will remain hidden from humans. This is one of the reasons why many believe all demons are evil.

Demons are easy to spot amongst humans. They normally have skin tones of green, blue, or grey shades. They can also appear in the form of animals or living shadows and they are eyes come in green or red. Their eyes will glow with hellfire and are surrounded by an aura that is an obvious tell of being not of this world.

The third path is the rarest. The souls that follow this path are held in the human realm by pure, selfless ties. They are often considered to have an obsession like demons, only possessing a selfless obsession with protecting the innocent. They are often worshipped as deities in other lands because of this. These souls live amongst humans on the human plane to better protect humankind. Although they often set up specific territories that they guard furiously, they will allow others of their kind in with open arms and will travel outside of their territory when they believe they are needed. During their first two years, the souls will develop abilities similar to that of a demon's basic abilities; which would be invisibility, intangibility, and plasma rays. The soul will also be less dense in its makeup, allowing it to fly. The next powers gained will be the Wail and a section of the soul's elemental power (such as developing river, sea, or ice if the soul's element is water). When the soul reaches maturity after the two years, it will one again become more dense and lose out on it's ability to float, but it's maturity will also bring about new abilities (which are different for every soul), full control of their element, and a different means of flight.

Before maturity, these spirits resemble humans in skin tone and form, but only that far. Although they posses a glowing aura, it is not as obvious as a demons and may even go unnoticed to the unfocused eye. Their hair may come in any shade imaginable, though the most predominate is black or white. The creatures' eyes are the most fascinating. They shine with the same glowing energy that appears for their plasma rays. When they gain their elemental power, their eyes will shift colors to follow their element: red for fire, blue for water, green for earth, or silver for air. The color of the soul's eyes are never the same color as their element, but instead often follow the color of their destined mate's element. Once the spirit reaches maturity, the aura is brought to its full glow and their true form is revealed. Wings of the same color as the soul's hair will blossom from its back and grow to reach the tips of the soul's hands.

These souls are often called saints, guardians, or Angels.

**Bet you can't guess where this is going! XD**

**Please Review!**


	2. Capture A Ghost

**I'm back! I'm so super sorry for taking forever with this! I've had so much going on this summer, along with trying to get some work done on the sequel to my DP/HP crossover (which will hopefully get put up sometime in the next week). I hope you forgive me, but I understand if you are mad. It **_**has **_**been two months.**

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed!**

**To **Ugh**, yes the other chapters will be longer than the prologue. As for it being a cliché... I do not know.**

**I do not own Danny Phantom! If I did, this would be an episode, not a fan fiction.**

**I bring you the first chapter of **_**The Third Path**_

* * *

_Capture A Ghost_

"Can't you guys ever give me a break?"

Maddie Fenton ran towards a nearby alleyway upon hearing the shout.

The ghost hunter had been out tracking ghosts on her own because Jack and Jazz had gone off for a father/daughter retreat earlier that day. She had been hoping to spend the week with Danny, but he had gone to spend the night with Sam and Tucker. After spending a few hours on her own inventions, the ghost tracker had gone off. She immediately grabbed a ghost pistol and ran off in the Fenton Family GAV, or ghost assault vehicle. She had followed the tracker all the way downtown until she got close enough to jump out and track on foot. She had barely gone a few feet when she heard a voice she recognized as the ghost boy's.

When she got to the alleyway, she saw the infamous ghost teen standing before two other ghosts. The first she recognized as the pop diva Ember McLain from when she and her two friends made all the men disappear. **(AN: Girls Night Out)** She believed the other one was the ghost who had taken over the house, but she could not be sure.

The ghost boy had obviously taken many hits and appeared drained, but he still seemed to be faring better than the other two. The boy fired a round a blasts at the ghosts before saying, "I'm serious! Why do you guys always have to come and bug me? Don't you have anything better to do?"

"Oh we do, Dipstick," Ember said. "But every time we try to have some fun, _you_ always get in the way."

"That's because your 'fun' usually involves innocent people getting hurt or brainwashed," the ghost boy said and Maddie rolled her eyes. Like the ghost would really care about that. She new it was fake. Ghosts only cared about themselves. It was dictated by their very makeup. It was obvious the boy just wanted the praise that came with being the town's "Hero." Maddie and Jack were sure that if the ghost attacks were ever to stop the ghost would quickly turn against the town and start creating its own trouble to fix so that it would be able to stay as the hero. That was why they continued to hunt him, even after all he had done.

"Why do you even care? It's not like the humans do anything for you, child. I, Technus, Master of-"

"Long winded speeches," the ghost boy said as the technology ghost was hit by a blast.

"Focus Tech-dork," Ember yelled at her fallen comrade as she sent a blast at the ghost boy, who barely dodged.

The other ghost, Technus as Maddie had just learned, sat up and grumbled before making a few wires spring up and attack the ghost boy. The teen blasted the wires away before landing a hit on both of the ghosts. He quickly pulled out what Maddie recognized to be the Fenton Thermos. The ghost hunter pulled out her ecto pistol as the ghost boy sucked the two ghosts into the thermous, fuming that the ghost had stolen the technology she and her husband had designed.

Maddie tried to sneak up on the ghost boy. However, when she was halfway to him, something knocked over a can sending him spinning around to face her.

"Mo-Maddie," he said before raising a gloved hand that was glowing with bright green energy. "Duck!" Maddie jumped out of the way as he shot off a blast. She was about to let off a shot when she heard his blast connect with something. She turned to see a large ghost that resembled a robot with bright green eyes and a matching flaming mohawk.

The ghost quickly shot a blast off at the teen, but he dodged. Angry, the ghost turned to Maddie before smiling.

"You might be able to dodge me whelp, but can she," the ghost said before aiming a new weapon at Maddie. He quickly fired and five daggers flew towards her. Unable to dodge, Maddie quickly put her arms up to cover her face.

She felt something brush against her, but she did not feel the sting of the knives digging into her skin. She opened her eyes and was surprised by what she saw. Standing in front of her in the same position she had been in was the ghost boy. Two of the daggers were set into his right forearm and another was in his left shoulder. The last two were lodged in his upper left leg. The ghost boy had his eyes closed as if in pain. When he opened his eyes and turned to Maddie with a small smile, the hunter was sure he was faking in an attempt to get her sympathy.

"Get out of here," he said weakly.

Maddie pretended to listen by backing away, but quickly ducked down behind a garbage can to watch the fight. Although the ghost boy was fighting hard, his earlier fight had obviously weakened him too much. It was not long until the ghost boy was blasted across the alleyway and Maddie lost sight of him.

As the ghost made its way past her towards where the ghost boy had disappeared, Maddie jumped up and blasted it with her pistol. The gun was quickly blasted out of her hand and the ghost pulled out a larger gun.

"I was planning on testing this on the whelp, but you'll do," the ghost said. As the gun powered up, Maddie's life flashed before her eyes and she was happy that her family was safe and sound. The gun fired and there was a flash of green. A scream rang through Maddie's ears.

After a few seconds, the ghost hunter realized two things. The first was that she was alive and unharmed. The second was that she was not the one that screamed. Maddie looked down to see the ghost boy clutching his stomach as he began to get up. His hazmat suit was burned away over his stomach revealing a burn that would have been deadly had it been on a human.

The ghost boy rose, his green energy surrounding his body and his eyes blazed like neon green stars, the whites and pupils hidden behind the light. "Don't touch her!" he shouted before the energy suddenly changed to a bright blue and he blasted the other ghost. Maddie was shocked to see the blast freeze the ghost solid as apposed to the usual burning affect ectoplasm had. She had been unaware the ghost teen possessed an ice core.

The teen fell to his hands and knees and panted. Maddie rolled her eyes. She was well aware that ghosts did not need to breath. It was just another way the ghost teen tried to trick people into thinking he was a hero. By making himself appear more human, people forgot he was just another dangerous blob of ectoplasm.

As Maddie watched, the ghost boy tried to reach for his thermos, but lost his balance and fell to the ground. Maddie scoffed and grabbed the thermos. Once she had sucked the frozen ghost into the device, she turned back to the teen. He seemed to be slowly getting up. He smiled at her and said, "Thanks." When he made it to his feet, he leaned against the wall of the building on one side of the building. His right arm was wrapped around his stomach while the other was hanging limp. "I guess I'll just be... uh... going now," he said, eyeing the thermos.

Maddie attached the thermos to her belt and the teen relaxed, which made it easier for the ghost hunter to jump forward and snap the ghost cuffs she had slipped out of her belt with her other hand while the boy had been distracted with the thermos.

The ghost boy tried to pull away, but could not. "I guess it was too much to hope you would let me go after everything."

Maddie grabbed her fallen ecto pistol before pushing the ghost along. "Don't try your little hero routine on me. You should know by now that it won't work on my husband or me."

"Routine?" the ghost boy said. "You think I'm faking? Why am I surprised? After all, nothing's in it for _me_. Why would _I _want to _help _humans?" he said sarcastically and she was sure he was referring to what the ghosts earlier had said.

"Of course you're faking," Maddie said. "Ghosts don't care for humans, only themselves or their mates in few cases. Ghosts are naturally selfish creatures."

"So are humans," the ghost boy muttered. "It's just a matter of choosing to do the selfless thing instead."

"It's different for ghosts and you know it. Now get in," Maddie said pushing the ghost boy towards the back door of the GAV.

The teen turned Maddie and said, "My mom always told me not to get into cars with strangers." He smiled as if he had told an inside joke, while she just gave him another push towards the door. He tried to stop again and said, "Isn't this kidnapping. I thought you were supposed to be one of the good guys." Maddie could hear the desperation in his voice.

"You're a ghost, which means you don't have the kind of rights humans have. And I am the good guy, because I get rid of dangerous creatures like you."

"I'm not dangerous. I help the town!"

"For now," Maddie said as she pushed the boy towards the door again. She opened it and pulled down the ramp. She pushed him up the ramp to the mobile lab inside as she said, "Just as long as you can still fulfill your obsession here."

"Obsession?" the ghost boy asked, confused.

"Yes, all ghosts have an obsession. Your's is obviously the hero worship you receive."

"You think I _like_ having all those crazy fans! You're insane! They freak me out! Have you seen Paulina and her 'Phan-club'? They're the ones with the obsession."

"You say you don't like it, and yet you know her name," Maddie said with a smirk.

"It's hard not to know it. She tries to ask me out on a date every time she sees me. Even after I've said 'No' I don't know how many times," the ghost boy deadpanned.

Maddie frowned, knowing the ghost boy most likely was not exaggerating. She had seen the Sanchez girl and knew she could be called obsessed. She pushed it off and pointed to a gurney that had ghost proof straps attached. "Lie down, ghost boy."

"What is it with everyone refusing to call me by my name? Skulker calls me whelp. Plasmius calls me Daniel. Ember calls me dipstick or baby pop. Walker calls me punk... and so does Johnny now that I think of it... My name is Danny Phantom! It's not that hard of a name to remember. Why can't you just call me by my name?" asked the ghost boy as he threw his still handcuffed arms in the air, wincing at the feel of the daggers still in his arm.

Maddie glared at the teen. Danny was her son's name. She refused to associate her sweet baby-boy with a filthy ghost, even with something as small as a name. "I won't call you Danny."

The ghost boy got a look on his face, but before Maddie could try to see what it was, it was gone. "I understand, but can you at least call me Phantom?"

"Fine," Maddie said, not in the mood to argue with the ghost. "Lie down, Phantom."

Phantom glanced at the gurney and shifted his feet. "I think I'm good standing."

Maddie growled and pulled the boy onto the gurney. He was still severely weakened from his earlier fights so it was not hard to hold him still enough to strap his legs down. She grabbed his right arm and yanked it over to the straps, which also pulled the left arm since they were still cuffed.

There was a sharp intake of breath before Phantom said, "You know, I have a knife in my shoulder. You could be a little gentler."

Maddie ignored him as she finished strapping down his arm before unlocking the cuffs and strapping down the other arm. She turned around to look for her supplies and she heard Phantom fight against the straps for a moment before he let out a small whimper that she almost did not hear. When she turned back around, a container in one hand and a tray of instruments on the other, she saw him laying back on the gurney with his eyes closed and taking deep breaths. She walked towards him and his eyes opened weakly. Had he been human, Maddie would have guessed that the adrenalin was wearing off. However, he was a ghost, which meant he was either faking or he had reached the ends of his energy reserves.

Maddie set the container and tray on a table next to the gurney and reached for the dagger in Phantom's shoulder.

Phantom's eyes went wide and he jerked away from her hand. "What are you doing?"

Maddie crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at the teen. "I was going to remove the knives. You can't tell you want to keep them in."

"No, I don't want to keep them in there," Phantom said, rolling his eyes, "But you can't just take them out. I'll bleed to death!"

"You're a ghost. You don't have blood."

"I have ectoplasm."

"Ectoplasm naturally keeps its shape. The only thing that will happen when I take them out is that your ectoplasm will naturally reform into its original form. Besides, you can't 'bleed to death' because you are already dead," Maddie said, getting annoyed by the ghost teens actions. "Now hold still."

Maddie reached for the knife again, but Phantom still moved away. Maddie sighed realizing she was not getting anywhere. She turned around and pulled a small vial and a syringe. Once she had put the contents of the vial into the needle, she turned back to the ghost boy. His eyes went even wider upon seeing the needle and immediately began pulling on the straps again.

"Hold still," Maddie ordered.

"Hell no!" shouted Phantom. "I'm not going to just sit still while you inject poison or something into me!"

"It's not poison," Maddie said, finally grabbing his arm. "It's a sedative. If you insist on not holding still, then I have no choice." Before the teen could say anything else, she stuck the needle into his arm and emptied the contents. The drug took affect immediately. Phantom stopped fighting against the straps and gave her one last fear-filled look before his eyes shut and his body relaxed. Maddie noticed that, although his breathing slowed, it did not stop as it should have. Breathing was something that the ghost had to consciously simulate. If he was still pretending to breathe, then he was still semi-conscious, which meant he could still be dangerous.

Maddie started checking the straps just in case. However, when she reached Phantom's right arm, she noticed something was leaking onto his white glove. Maddie looked closer and could not believe her eyes.

There was a small pool of semi-thick liquid around the two daggers and a small trail of it led away dripping down his arm. It was the same bright emerald green color as Phantom's eyes and energy, instead of the forest green color of ectoplasm.

_That's impossible! Ghosts don't bleed, _Maddie thought. The woman put her hand to her chest and her eyes widened. As her fingers brushed against the necklace sitting below her hazmat suit, she took in the boy's appearance, including the small lifting motion of his chest. _It can't be... He can't be..._

Maddie grabbed a Petri dish and put some of the green liquid into it. After prepping a slide, she sat down at a microscope and looked into it. It only took a few seconds to confirm what she already knew. It was not ectoplasm.

Maddie turned away from the microscope and walked over to the gurney. She bit her lip as she saw all the injuries he had; all the injuries he had gotten protecting her. She sighed, knowing that the supplies she needed, and the book, were back at Fenton Works.

After double-checking the straps and the hooks holding the gurney in place to be sure it and the boy on it were not going anywhere, Maddie walked to the front of the GAV and sat down in the driver's seat. She took one last look at Phantom before starting the vehicle and heading back to Fenton Works.

* * *

_Beep... Beep... Beep..._

Danny groaned as the annoying sound invaded his head, bringing him out of his deep sleep.

_Beep... Beep... Beep..._

The halfa groaned again and tried to turn over onto his side, but quickly moved back onto his back because of two things: a sharp pain in the shoulder he had turned onto and a tugging sensation in the other arm near his elbow.

_Beep... Beep... Beep..._

Sighing, Danny opened his eyes a little. He tried to look around, but everything was to blurry to see and he ended up just closing his eyes once more.

_Beep... Beep... Beep..._

The ghost boy shivered. Expecting the softness of his bed, Danny ran a hand against the surface he was laying on, only for his bare hand to meet hard, cold metal.

_Beep... Beep... Beep..._

Danny slowly sat up. After blinking the last of the blurriness out of his eyes, he looked around to see where he was.

The first thing he noticed was that the walls, floor, and ceiling were made of a dark grey metal. Next were the metal tables with beakers, test tubes and other science equipment. Finally, he saw what was closest to him: an IV and a heart monitor attached to his right arm, an examination table under him, a blanket spread over him, and a pillow behind him were his head had been resting. Warning bells went off in his head when he realized he was on an examination table, but he was still too groggy to realize what it could mean.

Danny put his hand on his head as he tried to remember what happened. He had called his mom to tell her that he was going to spend the night with Sam and Tucker at Sam's house. He had been about to call Sam and Tucker to tell them he could come over, but then Ember, Skulker, and Technus had ambushed him. He had lost track of Skulker while fighting Ember and Technus.

_Ow_, Danny thought. _Did Skulker sneak up behind me?_ He rubbed his head. The effort was giving him a headache, but the memories were slowly coming to him as his head cleared.

The halfa had beaten Ember and Technus, and then he heard something behind him. He turned around to Skulker sneaking up on his mom. He had blasted the ghost, but Skulker tried to attack her. Without thinking, he had jumped in front of her and was hit by a bunch of daggers. He told her to run, and then Skulker had gotten a good shot in and knocked him away. When he got back, Skulker was about to fire a large gun at his mom. He took the blast then froze Skulker.

After that... he had been weak. He was barely holding onto his ghost form. His mom sucked Skulker into the thermos. Then...

Danny's eyes widened as he remembered. His mom had caught him and brought him back to the GAV before giving him a sedative.

The last bit of fogginess left his head as he swung his head around to see the familiar machine embedded within the wall. The beeping of the heart monitor suddenly picked up a faster rate as Danny's location finally sunk into his head.

The half ghost reached up and grabbed his bangs, bringing the silvery white hairs into view. He sighed, relieved that he was still in ghost form, but froze when he realized his arm had thick bandages wrapped around it. He looked down and saw that the same type of bandages were wrapped around his torso and shoulder.

Danny shivered, imagining a Y-shaped scar underneath the strips of fabric. He pushed the dark thoughts away and tried to focus. He pushed the blanket off him and saw that his hazmat suit had been completely removed. He was shirtless and was wearing a pair of plain black sweats over his boxers. He could feel more of the bandages wrapped around his left thigh.

Danny's gaze shot to the stairs as he heard the door at the top open and footsteps coming down. He tried to run, but as soon as he stood up, he was hit by a sudden sense of vertigo. He fell forward and knocked over the heart monitor, just barely missing the IV. The halfa tried to pick himself up as he heard the footsteps stop before returning at a faster pace than before.

The teen had barely made it to his hands and knees when his mom walked into view carrying a plate. When she saw Danny on the ground, she set the plate on the examination table and started towards him. The boy's eyes widened as he moved backwards trying to get away.

Seeing Danny's reaction, Maddie stopped her approach and put her hands up, showing her palms so that Danny could see she was not holding anything. "It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you. I just wanted to help you back onto the table."

Danny looked between his mom and the table before shaking his head. _There's no way I'm getting back on there! _He put a hand on his chest and said, "What did you do to me?"

"Nothing," Maddie said quickly. "I just bandaged up your injuries. I won't hurt you."

"That's comforting coming from the ghost hunter that's been shooting at me for nearly two years, not to mention capturing me and dragging me here."

"I'm sorry. If I had known you weren't a ghost before-"

Danny froze before stuttering out, "W-what are y-you talking about? Of c-course I'm a g-ghost. W-what else would I-I be?" _She knows I'm half ghost! How did she find out?_

Maddie smiled, taking a few steps forward. When Danny (who was still freaking out in his head) did not react, she continued and leaned down. Finally realizing how close his mother was to him he flinched, but did not move back.

Slowly, Maddie slipped her arms underneath Danny to pick him up and set him on the examination table. As she checked his arm where the IV and heart monitor were attached, she said, "You don't have to lie to me. I already know what..." She stopped and looked at him thoughtfully. "You don't know, do you?"

* * *

**Sorry for taking so long again. Please review and tell me how I'm doing! I'll try to reply to any signed reviews or post a comment in the next chapter to anonymous ones.**


	3. Sorry

I'm sorry to do this to you all, but this story will be going on hiatus for a while. Unfortunately I have been facing a lack of motivation along with writer's block for this story. To top it off, my computer has crashed and I am now unable to get to what I do have of the next chapter. If I do manage to either get the file off my computer or find the will to retype a new one, then the story will continue. As of this moment, that doesn't appear to be happening soon. As a result, anyone who would be interested in adopting this, just let me know.

My apologies,

Reid


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